InSight data trace a Mars quake to a fault beneath Valles Marineris
Researchers at Imperial College London and Columbia University traced InSight seismic event S0976a to a fault beneath Valles Marineris, where rocks slipped sideways about 20 to 40 kilometres below the surface. Their analysis, published in Nature Communications, found that ancient faults can still rupture on Mars, despite the planet having no moving tectonic plates.
Bottom line — The 2021 quake adds Valles Marineris to three Martian regions where InSight data indicate active faulting.
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InSight recorded S0976a on 25 August 2021; it was the only event the mission located in Mars’s western hemisphere, according to Imperial College London.
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The team tested impact and landslide explanations, but they did not reproduce the recorded seismic waves; orbital images showed no fresh crater or large new landslide, Imperial reports.
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Researchers say long-term planetary cooling, stresses linked to the Tharsis volcanic region and local effects of the canyon may all load the fault.
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The seismic waves also travelled through Mars’s core, helping researchers study the planet’s interior, according to Imperial.
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InSight’s mission ended in 2022, but researchers continue to analyse its recordings.